Increasing staff nurse awareness of postoperative pain management in the NICU

Infants must have effective pain management in the postoperative period. A Level III NICU evaluated its current practice and identified barriers to effective pain management. Action was then taken to eliminate the identified barriers. This included developing a pain management team, testing and implementing an objective postoperative pain tool, employing a new flow sheet that incorporates the pain tool, offering multidisciplinary educational activities, and involving nurses in research. These actions have broken down the barrier to effective postoperative pain management and provided direction for a new standard of care.